I'm going to show you three ways that Stackato makes developing, testing and deploying web applications easier.

1. Stackato solves the "It worked on my box" problem

If you're running a Stackato cluster in production and staging and a Stackato Micro Cloud locally for development, you'll have a consistent environment across the board. What works on the Stackato Micro Cloud will work on a Stackato cluster.

2. Easy cross-browser and cross-device testing from your development environment

Run your local Stackato MicroCloud in Bridged Networking mode, and you'll be able to access it from any device on your network.You can even test your responsive layouts on your phone or tablet. Find a bug in your CSS? Fix it locally, push it to your development microcloud and reload the page on your device.

Sample app in Chrome:

And the same sample app in mobile Safari:

(Note: you'll need to change the hostname to something other than stackato.local if there are other folks running a microcloud on your network to avoid collisions.)

3. Share your changes without staging them

Bridged networking provides another benefit: you can send your team members a link to an app running on your local Stackato Micro Cloud instead of pushing your changes to staging. This can be helpful when you want feedback on a front-end feature that isn't ready for everyone to see.

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Tara leads the ActiveState Infrastructure team, helps maintain the corporate websites, and works as a developer on the Stackato web management console. She has a degree in Cognitive Science from Carleton University with a concentration in Human/Computer Interaction and AI.